Train station welcome center put on hold

EXETER — Selectmen Monday night put the brakes on an agreement with the state Department of Transportation that would have used federal grant money to turn a 1890 baggage building into a train station welcome center.

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By Jason Schreiber

seacoastonline.com

By Jason Schreiber

Posted Jun. 6, 2014 at 2:00 AM

By Jason Schreiber
Posted Jun. 6, 2014 at 2:00 AM

» Social News

EXETER — Selectmen Monday night put the brakes on an agreement with the state Department of Transportation that would have used federal grant money to turn a 1890 baggage building into a train station welcome center.

Town Manager Russ Dean said changes in the rules for the grant drove up the cost of the project, creating concern among selectmen and members of the town's train committee.

Selectmen decided to withdraw from the grant agreement to pursue other funding options in the future that may go before voters next March.

Town officials had hoped to purchase and renovate the 700-square-foot stone building on Lincoln Street that was once used as a train station baggage building.

The building was eligible for federal funding under the Transportation Enhancement Program and the town signed an agreement with the state in December 2011.

Under that agreement, the project was originally expected to cost $403,200, with 70 percent, or $282,240, coming from a federal highway grant with the town covering the remaining 30 percent, or $120,960. The town's portion was to include just under $72,000 in town funds and the rest from in-kind services.

Selectmen decided to pull out of the grant process because the cost of the project climbed to just over $700,000. However, they expressed interest in continuing to find a way to eventually purchase the building for a welcome center for passengers using Amtrak's Downeaster rail service. The center would include a place to wait, ticketing area, travel information and restrooms.

"This is a very important project. We're just stepping back so we can move forward," Selectman Dan Chartrand said.

Selectman Don Clement said the town needs to figure out what the project will really cost and bring it back to voters.

"I think we gave it our best shot. It didn't work out," he said of the effort to pursue the grant.

Before the meeting, Bob Hall, chairman of the Exeter Train Committee, said he was disappointed that the grant wouldn't work out but vowed to continue the push for the town to buy the building.

"I certainly want to see the welcome center become a reality for the town," he said.